“Sithspit!”, Han cursed while he pulled the Falcon into another stomach-twisting turn and quickly rolled
away from the laser fire.

Suddenly, the transporter launched a single escape pod, which they could just barely evade.

“Someone’s seen who’s inside?”, Han pressed out through gritted teeth.

Anni and Jag both declined.

……someone could die……

Anni raised her head from the blinking displays and spoke up: “But that isn’t so important. Whoever is inside
will die if we don’t do something!”

… ... I won’t let that happen……

“Kriff!”, Han cursed again.

“Why don’t you just drop us in the hangar so we can go and see whether Jaina is still on board of the freighter
while you check out the escape pod?”, Jag suggested.

Han’s quick gaze already told him the answer to that: That’s a very bad idea.

“Someone has to stop the pod before it gets destroyed in case Jaina is really in it, but we don’t have enough
time to search the transporter afterwards. I bet the peace brigaders are already in and looking for her there. We can’t
let them find her!”, Anni objected.

Han looked grim. Anni had never seemed more similar to Jaina or Leia than in this moment.

If I hadn’t married Leia and gotten a daughter with someone else instead, would she’d been like her?, he
wondered.

“I won’t let you go in there alone!”, he disagreed.

“She won’t be alone”, Jag said quietly.

“No! I won’t let anyone of you go in there! That’s too dangerous!”

“Never tell me the odds!”, Anni said icily, her eyes flashing.

Stupid corellian blood, Han thought grimly.

Anni leaned closer to him and studied him closely.
“You’re afraid you won’t be able to handle the Falcon on your own?”, she challenged, raising
one brow.

Han fell silent and just glared at her. But she was right. He had to help whoever was in the pod.

“I hope you two can shoot”, he murmured.

Anni flashed Jag a victorious grin, before she hurried past him to collect a few weapons – or accessories, how
she called them.

* * *

Elan watched the two young humans exit the Millennium Falcon.

“I can divert them while you go”, Vergere offered, crouching next to her behind a box.

“No, I won’t leave you here”, Elan said, still eyeing the infidels.
A boy and a girl….not worth her breath.

“Maybe Jaina is already on board. Or someone else from her family. Anyone of them would be worth releasing the poison.”

“You’re right”, Elan had to admit. It would be a honorable death. And since Showolter was probably dead
by now….
She refused her thoughts to go on any further. They weren’t healthy. Not for a true Yuuzhan Vong.

She turned around to say farewell to her intima. A rare true smile crossed her face.

“I’ll miss you”, she conceded.

“I’ll miss you too. You’ll bring honor to us”, Vergere said, “I’ll take care of Jaina
Solo if she isn’t on the ship and I should meet her.”

Elan nodded.

Vergere crouched to the next door and slowly rose, trying to make it appear as if she’s just come in.
Then, she ran towards the humans, waving her arms over her head and screaming at them.

“Please help me! There are Peace Brigaders everywhere!”, Elan could hear her saying.

“You’ve seen a young woman here, straight brown hair, brown eyes?”, the boy asked. He had black hair and
a scar on his forehead.
“About this-“, the girl added, holding her hand into the air,”-height?”
She was equipped with a heavy blaster rifle that seemed far too large for her slim body.

Vergere tilted her head.
“The Jedi girl?”

Scar-face and walking-blaster-rifle nodded.

“I’ve seen her! I’ll bring you to her if you get me out of here!”

“Okay, show us the way.”, Scar-face said with a nod. He gestured to the ship, indicating he would go in. A light
flashed in reply.

Vergere led them through one of the entrances, carefully choosing a different way than the one they’d come through.

Elan moved around behind the crates till she was close to the ramp and sure they pilot wouldn’t be able to spot her.

She was just about the rise when the ramp closed, still too far away for her to reach it in time. Then the ship simply took
off without her.